In the Black Country

Hubert von Herkomer was a highly successful artist of the late-Victorian and Edwardian era who specialised in scenes of social realism. He was born in Bavaria, but moved to England with his parents in 1857 and eventually settled in Bushey. He studied at the South Kensington Schools of Art and showed his first picture at the Royal Academy in 1869. In the Black Country depicts a night-time scene in the West Midlands, with a group of three workers, including a child, in front of a mill and glowing furnaces. The painting illustrates HerkomerÂ’s mature style and concern with social issues. It now joins Bushey MuseumÂ’s notable collection of this local artistÂ’s work.